LAPD Union Dropped From Ex-Universal Exec Brian Mulligan's Lawsuit

Mulligan claimed that the Los Angeles Police Protective League conducted a "public vilification" campaign against him.

Newscom

Brian Mulligan

A U.S. District Judge dismissed former Universal exec Brian Mulligan's claims that the Los Angeles Police Protective League was trying to vilify him after his arrest in May 2012, The Los Angeles Times reported. Judge R. Gary Klausner reportedly made the ruling on Wednesday.

Skip Miller, the attorney for Mulligan, declined comment to the Times.

In February, Mulligan filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department, stating that after he was stopped in Highland Park on May 16, 2012, he was ordered by officers to rent a motel room. In the complaint, Mulligan said he left the room only to be spotted by the officers who then beat him. "Mulligan suffered life-threatening injuries," and endured multiple surgeries and therapy "to repair the severe physical and psychological damage," the complaint stated.

The case received widespread attention after it came to light that the executive had admitted to use of bath salts prior to the May 16, 2012, incident. This past July, the executive's attorneys filed court papers alleging that the police union was engaging in "public vilification" of Mulligan.

Mulligan's attorneys argued in the July papers that "the LAPD, in violation of its own rules, leaked the arrest report, first to website TMZ, then to CBS Television, KFI Radio and put it on the Internet. Then after Mulligan filed a claim for damages, the leaks intensified to a level that quite frankly, surprised even us."

In the February complaint, Mulligan's attorneys had cited the union's October 2012 news release "Self-Admitted Bath Salts User Attempts to Shake Down the LAPD" as evidence that "the LAPPL made false, derogatory and threatening statements regarding Mulligan." The news release included audio recordings of Mulligan's conversations with officers.

Mulligan has issued few public statements about the May 2012 incident. However, in December 2012, he spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, saying that "I am relieved that the bulk of my physical injuries have been dealt with, and I've already been contacted for advisory work."